Advances in technology have resulted in smaller and more powerful computing devices. For example, there currently exist a variety of portable personal computing devices, including wireless computing devices, such as portable wireless telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and paging devices that are small, lightweight, and easily carried by users. More specifically, portable wireless telephones, such as cellular telephones and Internet Protocol (IP) telephones, can communicate voice and data packets over wireless networks. Further, many such wireless telephones include other types of devices that are incorporated therein. For example, wireless telephones can also include a digital still camera, a digital video camera, a digital recorder, and an audio file player. Also, such wireless telephones can process executable instructions, including software applications, such as a web browser application, that can be used to access the Internet. As such, these wireless telephones can include significant computing capabilities.
In a wireless network, an access point (AP) may be associated with one or more stations (STAs). The AP can request the stations (STA) associated with the AP to identify and determine measurements (e.g., signal strengths) of neighboring APs. Additionally, a first STA associated with the AP may scan for (e.g., take measurements of) other APs if the first STA desires to be associated with a different AP (e.g., initiate a handoff). However, in certain circumstances, measurements performed by the first STA may not be accurate enough to make precise handoff decisions or may require additional resources that consume power and resources of the first STA.
To obtain more accurate measurements, the first STA may request information of neighboring APs from the AP the first STA is currently associated with or request a second STA associated with the AP, via the AP, to scan for and provide the information of the neighboring APs. Once the first STA has obtained the information (e.g., measurements) of the neighboring APs, the first STA may make a handoff selection. However, the first STA is generally unaware of location/signal level of other STAs performing measurements on behalf of the AP (or for the first STA). Thus, the first STA does not know whether the received information (e.g., the measurements) of neighboring APs (received from the associated AP or the second STA) is relevant (i.e., appropriate) and/or accurate for the first STA to use when making a handoff decision.